Reflection
by T.N.Shiroi
Summary: A train, a young child, a university student, and reflections. Modern AU, non-pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**It has been a very, very long time since I posted, so here's a little attempt at fluff. **

**I'm sure everyone has had the experience of hearing kids scream and cry on the train, but thankfully our dear Alfie is pretty tame! *wink**

**I live in Canada, hence the use of the word "skytrain", but I use "train" and "skytrain" interchangeably since I think they're pretty much the same. **

**I don't own anything except the story. **

**Enjoy!**

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They were waiting for the skytrain.

Alfred watched as his younger brother writhed uselessly in the baby carriage. A belt strapped securely around Matthew's tummy and his short little arms flailed about as he tried to communicate through his baby babble. Alfred was happy about being a big brother and no one had been more excited than him when his brother was born, but sometimes Alfred wondered what was cool about being one. Matthew cried during nighttime, took their parent's attention away, and couldn't even say a word for Alfred's amusement. Being a big brother was kind of boring now, but Alfred was sure it would be fun later on….maybe.

How old was Matthew? Alfred looked at his fingers and counted one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight. Matthew was eight months old now, and mommy promised Alfred that his baby brother would be able to speak after his first birthday...which was something-months away.

Tired of looking at his brother's attempts to communicate, Alfred turned his head and looked at all the people around him. They were tall and strong, and Alfred wanted to be just like them when he grew up. He looked up and realized he couldn't see the big, flashing thing that would tell them when the train was here. He slipped through a forest of legs and reached the big yellow line that he wasn't supposed to cross but looked fun to step on. He let the edge of his toes cross the bottom of the line and peered down at the big iron rods that paved way for the train. It was such a mystery to him, how the things called "train tracks" could carry the big heavy train full of people.

"Alfie, come back here!" Alfred shrunk at his mommy's tone. She had seen him step on the yellow line and wasn't happy. He didn't want to go back, but when his mommy used that tone on him it usually meant he had to do what she said, _now_.

The skytrain came and Alfred closed his eyes as the wind breezed in his face. This was what he enjoyed most about waiting for a skytrain: when wind magically appeared when the train came into station. Sometimes he would spread his arms and stand there, feeling the wind as it blew against him, and imagine he was way up high in the bright blue sky, wings spread and flying. Alfred's daydream was broken by the tug from his mother's hand and he followed her into the train, one hand clutching the fabric of her pants. He sat on his mother's lap and looked curiously at the person who was already seated beside them. There was nothing special about her, just a blank face and blank expression like everyone else on the train. Maybe Matthew felt unhappy about the blandness and lack of life, so he began to cry.

"Hush, don't cry…" Alfred's mother said as soothingly as she could, one hand grabbing Alfred while the other tried to rock the carriage gently.

"Maybe Mattie doesn't like people?" Alfred suggested as he reached a hand to touch his brother's head. The baby cried even louder.

Alfred's mother sighed as people began looking, some showing irritated faces and some just smiling.

After a few stops the person next to his mommy got off, and Alfred sat on the spot near the aisle. He liked this spot and he didn't want to move.

"Move over please," His mother told him patiently. Alfred shook his head.

"I like it here."

His mother asked him to move again, but Alfred was looking at his brother. Matthew was still flailing his arms and crying, his face scrunched up and beet red. Suddenly his mother scooped him up and put him on the window seat.

"I don't want to sit here!" Alfred demanded as he tried to sit on the aisle seat again.

"I have to sit here otherwise your brother will be alone." His mother tried to explain to him, but Alfred didn't want to listen. He liked that seat and he wanted to sit there.

"I wanna sit there!" Alfred wailed as he began kicking the board in front of him.

"Honey, please don't kick the train." His mother said in a low voice, her fingers wrapping around his arm. Alfred shook her off and began sulking. He kicked the train a few more times for a good measure before deciding to stop.

He looked out the window for a moment but decided against it because the sun was too bright against his eyes and he didn't like it one bit, so he opted for looking in front of him. Alfred hadn't noticed there was this tall piece of plastic above the board. He could see himself in it, his outlines slightly blurred and the sun hitting off his face. He looked at the plastic board some more, and realized there were a pair of pretty green eyes staring straight at him.

Alfred stopped sulking and rubbed his eyes before using his hands to make binoculars to look at those eyes again. He blinked twice and stared hard, wondering if those eyes were real. The more he looked, the more he began to see an outline of a person. The person had blonde hair that seemed to stick up in some places, and his lips were set into a solemn line that could have fooled Alfred if he hadn't seen the slight twitch at the edge of his lips.

Alfred turned around, but the person sitting behind him was looking out the window. He frowned slightly before turning back to stare at the board again. Sure enough, those green eyes were looking at him with a smile. He turned back again, but the person still wasn't looking at him. His mother turned her head slightly to look at the person before looking at Alfred and turning his head back to the front gently.

The skytrain stopped and Alfred watched as mysterious-green-eyes got off the train. The door closed and Alfred stared at the glass to see if the person was still there. Those green eyes were really pretty, and he wondered if he would ever see them again.

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**The next chapter is Arthur's POV! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! This is Arthur's take on the events, I hope you guys will like it. **

**I do not own anything except the story. **

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Arthur was waiting for the skytrain when he noticed a mother and her two children. Mothers were never hard to notice, because for one, they had baby carriages that unwittingly took up all the space in the skytrain, and two, their children were wriggly at best and screaming terrors at worst. Focusing his eyes on the baby, Arthur fancied the idea that the baby seemed angry about being strapped to the carriage, yet it—he?— didn't wail in protest. The older boy seemed about five or six, and he too was looking at the baby. Being a freshman in university, Arthur wondered what it was like to reverse back to the period when he was a child. He thought of his brothers and shook his head slightly. Being a kid was never fun for him.

Arthur watched as the boy looked around before walking to the solid yellow line and looking down at the train tracks. He wanted to call the boy back because the train was coming, but his mother noticed and called him back with a sharp "Alfie, come back here!" The boy quickly shuffled back to his mother.

The train came and Arthur took a window seat, looking out the window while other passengers filed in. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining brightly, but Arthur wanted nothing more to go back to his flat and hole himself in for the rest of the day. He had never been the most sociable of people, and just one lecture at the university drained him out.

When the train started moving Arthur observed the mother had taken a seat in the row in front of him, one hand holding her son while using the other steadying the baby carriage. All was well for the first couple of minutes until the baby began crying. Arthur had seen his fair share of babies because his mother ran a nursery, so he didn't really mind, but other people were just muttering under their breaths about how annoying babies were.

After a few stops the person sitting next to the mother had left, and Arthur watched with interest as the boy took the seat with as much determination a little boy could have. He listened to the mother reason with the boy, and a few minutes later the boy was scooped up and put in the window seat in front of Arthur.

Of course the little boy began wailing for being put on the window seat, much to the mother's annoyance and the other passenger's dismay. Arthur failed to see what was wrong with the window seat, but the boy was obviously dissatisfied and demanded his seat back. When his mother didn't yield, the boy began hysterically blubbering and kicking the board in front of him.

Arthur frowned and looked at the plastic divider. The surface was quivering from the impact and the light reflected on it wobbled back and forth. Arthur looked at the boy's reflection and wondered when the boy was going to stop his useless tantrum. The boy looked out the window and Arthur followed his momentary gaze.

When the boy turned to stare at the divider Arthur decided to look at the boy a little bit longer. As a child Arthur was silent and preferred observing other people, a streak that never left him. The boy stared almost grudgingly at the plastic surface, his blue eyes dark with irritation and gloom. Then—all of the sudden—the boy blinked rubbed his eyes. Arthur held back a smile as the boy made mini binoculars out of his hands and was looking straight back at Arthur's reflection. The boy was squinting really hard and observing Arthur.

Arthur kept his expression bored and blank, but he couldn't help but smile a bit. The boy shifted in his seat and turned around, and when he did, Arthur turned his gaze to the window. He waited until the boy turned back to the study the divider before looking at the boy again. The boy looked straight back at him with his clear blue eyes sparkling with childish innocence, and Arthur did his best to keep a neutral expression.

The boy turned back again and Arthur looked away. The mother turned her head slightly and glanced at Arthur before looking at her son. She held out a hand and gently turned her son's head back to the front.

The train came to a halting stop and Arthur recognized his stop. He got off the train, resisting the urge to look back, and headed to the platform across. The little boy was weird but cute, and Arthur wondered if he would ever see the boy with bright blue eyes again.

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**Thank you for reading up to this point!**

**Comments are greatly appreciated; let me know what you guys think!**


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